SONG OF THE CENTURY: Napster's nemesis, the RIAA has put together an odd little list of songs, probably as a diversionary tactic to get people's minds off the courtroom drama. They call it the Songs of the Century, which lists 365 memorable performances, one for each day of this year. Johnny Mathis' "Chances Are" (gag) is positioned at number 175 by rank, sandwiched neatly in between Erroll Garner's "Misty" (as we know, this was the original), and Ketty Lester's beautiful "Love Letters". Interestingly, the song was outranked by such classics as Shirley Temple's "On The Good Ship Lollipop", The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight", and Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti"; on the other hand, "Chances Are" did outrank the Outlaws' "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys", Muddy Waters' "Got My Mojo Workin'", and Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". I think that pretty well speaks for itself! The list is available as a downloadable pdf file from the RIAA website, presumably without royalty.
MATHIS ON THE RADIO: BBC Radio 2 station continues its broadcast of a half-hour long, 6-week duration program simply called Johnny Mathis which airs every Friday starting March 9th. It's a radio biography featuring comments by Mathis' brother Ralph and sister Elizabeth Mathis-Douds, singers Dionne Warwick and Deniece Williams, producer Thom Bell, George Avakian, and even Pat Boone gets his two pence in! Here's a link to a description of the show. Sounds like a virtual "Johnny Mathis, This is Your Life" show that shouldn't be missed if you can help it (most of us still have to work)! The broadcast can be easily picked up on Real Audio/Real Player...click "Listen" on the BBC page referenced above, and you can hear it on the pop-up player. If you don't want to use their pop-up player, type the following into the Location bar of your RealPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/realmedia/fmg2.rpm.
IS YOU IS, OR IS YOU AIN'T?!: I really don't know what's up at A&E. A representative there tells me A&E never got the rights to the show and therefore can't release the Live By Request video. Yet, there is the official site claiming either a March or even a June or July release date. Any more it's seems screw ups are the order of the day when it comes to Johnny Mathis. It shouldn't be. Does he not merit more respect than this??
PRAYER FOR A FRIEND OF THE CHRONICLES: I wanted to send a word of encouragement to a loyal reader, frequent contributor, and fine human being, Margaret Shea of England, whose husband Bill is going in for surgery this week. I'm sure he'll be fine, but I shall send a prayer your way.
MATHIS IN CONCERT: Tickets are on sale NOW for the Nashville Symphony concert in Antioch (June 14). There is an 8-ticket limit with strict enforcement, which is good, as 8 should certainly be plenty for anyone! Tickets are still on sale through Ticketmaster for the Fort Wayne, Indiana show on March 29. Click here for seating chart/more info.
Tickets are still on sale for the shows in Fort La-Dee-Dah (April 13 and 14). Click here for more information.
The late shows at Caesar's Atlantic City are on sale now. At $60, it's a fairly hefty price. The shows are set for April 27 and 28th.
I believe tickets are on sale now for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra shows on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12. Looks like they're not selling online, though. Some folks insist on doing things the old-fashioned way! I would call 1-800-699-3168 and ask about tickets to that show. Here's an online ad for the show. The BPO has a cool lady conductor, and I'll bet they'll make Mathis sound fantastic!
Tickets are on sale for the shows at the Silver Legacy Casino in Reno, Nevada. Prices are $50, $44, and $30; call (800) 687-8733 for details or use the online form.
The Westbury Music Fair has added two NEW dates for the summer: July 20th & 21st. Tickets are on sale NOW online via Ticketmaster for these new dates.
Tickets for the North Shore Music Theatre concert in Wednesday, August 15 and Thursday, August 16 in Beverly, MA are on sale online NOW!
Sorry, still no Canadian or other foreign dates that I can see. I think I'd find some way to let Mathis know you guys want to hear him sing, too.
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